1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electric lamps and light fixtures including electric lamps, and more particularly to tubular electric lamps such as fluorescent lamps and light fixtures including such tubular lamps.
2. Description of Related Art
A typical electric light fixture includes an electric lamp. Common types of electric lamps include fluorescent lamps and incandescent lamps.
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a diode that emits light when a current passes through it. A diode is a semiconductor device through which current can pass in only one direction. LEDs are often used as indicator lights, and are also commonly used in computer system “laser” printers and compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM) drives.
LEDs are in general more efficient, last longer, and are more durable than fluorescent and incandescent lamps. In general, LEDs are about 4 times more efficient at producing light than fluorescent lamps, and approximately 16 times more efficient at producing light than incandescent lamps. Unlike fluorescent and incandescent lamps, LEDs are extremely shock resistant. While an incandescent lamp may produce light for 750 to 2,000 operating hours, and a fluorescent lamp may produce light for 12,000 to 24,000 hours of continuous use, many LEDs can produce light for 100,000 hours of continuous use. For the above reasons, LEDs are generally preferred over fluorescent and incandescent lamps in critical applications.